New Delhi: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with the Survey of India (SoI), has instructed US tech giant Google to remove the Chinese chat app ‘Ablo’ from its Play Store due to inaccuracies in its depiction of India’s territorial borders.
According to the government’s notice, the China-based video chat platform, which has garnered over 10,000 downloads on Google Play, misrepresented the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh while completely omitting Lakshadweep Island from its map. The directive cites the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1990, which classifies such misrepresentations as a punishable offence, carrying penalties of up to six months of imprisonment, fines, or both.
"It is evident that the subject map in the 'Ablo' app available at Google Play Store depicts an Indian map with an erroneous external boundary of India, which jeopardises the sovereignty and integrity of India," the notice states.
MeitY referenced Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, in its notice to Google, which mandates intermediaries to “expeditiously remove or disable access” to content that violates Indian laws.
The notice highlighted the issue of inaccurate maps on digital platforms, flagged during a meeting with the Survey of India (SoI). The ministry has urged SoI to initiate legal proceedings against such apps under applicable laws.
Additionally, the IT Ministry cited the Supreme Court’s 2015 judgement in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, which mandates intermediaries to comply with valid government orders.
Google appears to have complied with the order, as the Google Play Store landing page of the app now shows the message: “We're sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server”. The app is also now unavailable on Apple's App Store for the Indian users.
In early 2023, MeitY and the Survey of India (SoI) flagged several apps on the Play Store, including World Map Quiz and MA 2 - President Simulator, for inaccurately depicting India’s borders. Similarly, in 2021, the Indian government confronted Twitter (now X) over its non-compliance with the IT Rules 2021.
During the same period, then Twitter India chief Manish Maheshwari faced legal action from the Uttar Pradesh police, being charged with the incorrect representation of India’s map.
(inputs from IANS)